Wisconsin’s unemployment rate remained at 6.8-percent in July, staying at the same level registered in June. Preliminary figures released by the state Department of Workforce Development show Wisconsin added 1,800 private sector jobs in July.
DWD Secretary Reggie Newson continued to argue the numbers are not an accurate reflection of the state’s jobs climate because they come from a small sample of employers. Newson instead pointed to quarterly numbers the state submitted to the federal government on Thursday, which are based on a census of most businesses. Those figures show Wisconsin added over 24,000 private sector jobs between March of 2012 and 2013.
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate for July remained below the national rate of 7.4 percent.